Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Departmental Update on Flags

Baroness Barran: My Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, The Rt Hon Oliver Dowden CBE MP, has made the following Statement:The Union flag will now be flown on UK Government buildings every day unless another flag is being flown - acting as a visual symbol of the UK’s union, heritage and pride.Currently, Union flags are only required to be flown on all UK Government buildings in England, Wales and Scotland on designated days, such as the Queen’s birthday.The changes will apply to all Government buildings across the UK, with the Union flag being flown by default if nothing else is being flown, such as another national flag of the UK, or a county flag or other flags to mark civic pride. The guidance will also encourage other buildings, such as councils, to follow this example, where they have a flagpole and wish to fly a flag.The Union Flag is the National Flag of the United Kingdom, and it is so called because it embodies the emblems of the three constituent nations united under one Sovereign – the Kingdoms of England and Wales, of Scotland and of Northern Ireland. It serves as a reminder of our shared history and union. Flags, other than the Union such as national flags of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom, the Armed Forces flag, the Commonwealth flag, county and other local flags can be flown on non-designated days.We will also cut red tape to allow dual flagging – where two flags can be flown on one pole. This will allow organisations to highlight local and national identities, for example by flying a Middlesex county flag alongside the Union flag in Middlesex, or the Saltire alongside the Union flag in Scotland Where organisations have two flag poles, they can fly the Union flag alongside another flag, for example flying the Saltire alongside the Union flag in Scotland.The Union Flag must always be flown in the superior position.Following our departure from the European Union, planning regulations (in England) introduced by the then Government in 2007 that allow the EU flag to be flown on public buildings without securing express consent in the normal way, will also be removed.Instead, new ‘deemed consent’ will be granted for the NHS flags. This will allow for NHS flags to be flown, without the need for express consent – alongside the Union flag.The changes will help champion the UK’s national identities and strengthen our shared pride in the union through the institutions that define Britain.This guidance is published today and will apply from the summer.Flag Flying Guidance (pdf, 479.1KB)

Home Office

New Plan for Immigration

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Immigration Compliance and Justice (Chris Philp) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:We have today published the New Plan for Immigration – the Government’s landmark programme to deliver the first comprehensive overhaul of the asylum system in decades. These reforms are explained in more detail in our policy statement, which we have published today. To inform the proposals set out and ensure we can deliver effective change across the system, we have also launched a public consultation and run a wide-reaching engagement process. We will use this opportunity to listen to a wide range of views from stakeholders and sectors as well as members of the public. The policy statement and consultation are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-plan-for-immigration

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Policy update 2

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the UK International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for the COP26 Presidency and Minister of State (Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth) (Anne-Marie Trevelyan) has today made the following statement:Today, the Government published its consultation on proposals requiring mandatory climate-related financial disclosures by publicly quoted companies, large private companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).In November 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that in order to accelerate progress on climate risk disclosures, the UK will move towards mandatory Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) across major segments of the UK economy by 2025, with a significant portion of requirements to be introduced by 2023. This will make the UK the first G20 country to make TCFD-aligned disclosures mandatory across the economy.TCFD is an industry-led initiative which seeks to develop recommendations for climate-related financial disclosures. In 2017, the TCFD launched their recommendations, which set out how companies of any size, and in any sector or geography, could better manage and disclose their climate-related financial risks. Our proposed regulations will require companies to disclose information in line with the four pillars of TCFD (Governance, Strategy, Risk Management and Metrics & Targets).High-quality disclosure of how organisations will manage the material financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change will improve transparency and encourage better informed pricing and capital allocation. As a result, and over time, TCFD-aligned disclosures will support investment decisions aligned with our transition to net zero. Our ambitious proposals will ensure the U.K. is leading the way ahead of COP26, where we will have an opportunity to encourage other countries to replicate our action.I will place a copy of the Consultation Document in the Libraries of the House.

Energy Policy update 1

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng has today made the following statement:Today I am delighted to announce a landmark agreement between Government and the oil and gas industry – the North Sea Transition Deal - to support the industry’s transition to clean, green energy and secure future of high-skilled oil and gas workers and the supply chain. This follows our commitment to securing a Deal in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto and is the first of its kind to be agreed by a G7 nation.The offshore oil and gas industry has been a major British industrial success story. For decades, the sector has strengthened our energy security, generated significant tax revenue to fund our public services, and currently supports around 260,000 jobs across the UK. From the Shetland Islands and Aberdeen to Teesside and the Humber, the industry is critical to the health of local economies across the country.In the Energy White Paper, we have committed to work with industry to make the UK Continental Shelf a net zero basin by 2050. The oil and gas industry will have a critical role in maintaining our energy security through this transition. Domestically produced gas still met approximately 46 percent of the country’s supply of gas in 2019 and the Climate Change Committee forecasts our continued need for fossil fuels for years to come.The North Sea Transition Deal between the UK Government and oil and gas industry will support workers, businesses, and the supply chain as it transitions to a net zero future by harnessing the industry’s existing capabilities, infrastructure, and private investment potential to exploit new and emerging technologies such as hydrogen production, Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and offshore wind – as well as offshore decommissioning.Through the Deal, the oil and gas sector and government will work together over the long-term to deliver the skills, innovation and new infrastructure required to decarbonise North Sea production, as well as other carbon intensive industries. Not only will the Deal support existing companies to decarbonise in preparation for a net zero future, but it will also attract new industrial sectors to base themselves in the UK, develop new export opportunities for British businesses, and secure new high-value jobs.Through the package of measures, the Deal is expected to support up to 40,000 jobs across the supply chain and is expected to cut pollution by up to 60 million tonnes by 2030 including 15 million tonnes from oil and gas production on the UK Continental Shelf - the equivalent of annual emissions from 90% of the UK’s homes.The North Sea Transition DealDelivery of the new Green Industrial Revolution will require a strong partnership between government, regulators and industry. This Deal sets out a template for that partnership and includes an ambitious plan to meet stretching greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. The Deal aims to support and anchor the expert supply chain that has built up around oil and gas in the UK, to both safeguard and create new high-quality jobs.The Deal includes:The sector setting early targets to reduce emissions by 10% by 2025 and 25% by 2027 and has committed to cut emissions by 50% by 2030. This will be supported by joint work to address the commercial and regulatory barriers to electrification of offshore platforms to realise these targets.Joint government and industry investment of up to £16 billion by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions. This includes up to £3 billion to replace fossil fuel-based power supplies on oil and gas platforms with renewable energy, up to £3 billion on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage, and up to £10 billion for hydrogen production.By 2030, the sector will voluntarily commit to ensuring that 50% of its offshore decommissioning and new energy technology projects will be provided by local businesses, helping to anchor jobs to the UK. This will be supported by the appointment of an Industry Supply Chain Champion who will support the coordination of local growth and job opportunities with other sectors, such as Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and offshore wind.A 60Mt reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, including 15Mt through the progressive decarbonisation of UKCS production over the period to 2030.[1] Support for up to 40,000 direct and indirect supply chain jobs in decarbonising UKCS production and the CCUS and hydrogen sectors.Today’s announcement delivers on the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and builds on our ambitious Energy White Paper, which set out how the government would support the decarbonisation of offshore oil and gas production while promoting opportunities for the sector to transition to clean energy.To aid the transition to a green economy, today’s package follows the recent Budget in which the Chancellor committed to funding that targets the oil and gas sector and supports businesses to develop green energy. This includes up to £27 million for the Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone to transform the area into a green energy hub and up to £5 million additional funding for the Global Underwater Hub based in Aberdeen to open up opportunities for the city to become a global hub for underwater engineering, including in offshore wind and hydrogen – further supporting the creation of green jobs and helping the transition to net zero.I will place a copy of the North Sea Transition Deal in the Libraries of the House.The Review of Future Licensing of Offshore Oil and GasWe committed in September 2020 to reviewing policy on licensing for North Sea oil and gas to ensure it was compatible with our climate change objectives. This included assessing whether licensing for new oil and gas exploration and production should continue in its current form, as well as the scope for formalising any aspects of our existing processes to provide additional assurances.Noting the ongoing role of oil and gas on our path to net zero, the Government will introduce a new Climate Compatibility Checkpoint on future oil and gas licensing rounds to ensure they are compatible with wider climate objectives, including net-zero emissions by 2050. This checkpoint will use the latest evidence of the time, looking at the UK’s demand for oil and gas, the sector’s projected production levels, the increasing prevalence of clean technologies such as offshore wind and carbon capture, and the sector’s continued progress against its ambitious emissions reduction targets.Design of this checkpoint will be completed by the end of 2021, before the next oil and gas licensing round. The Oil and Gas Authority has already indicated that that they will not be running a new licensing round this year. In parallel, the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning is commencing work on a new Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment which will underpin future licensing rounds.Government response to the public consultation ‘Aligning UK international support for the clean energy transition’At the Climate Ambition Summit on 12 December 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will end new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, other than in limited circumstances, as soon as possible. A consultation on this and how to accelerate growth in UK clean energy exports was subsequently held until 8 February 2021.Following the consultation, the Government will no longer provide support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas from 31 March 2021. This will include UK Export Finance support, international aid funding, and trade promotion for new crude oil, natural gas and thermal coal projects.To support the UK’s energy sector in making this transition, we will provide a one-year exemption for Small and Medium sized Enterprises, to ensure the most vulnerable firms are given time to adjust; a new ‘Transition Export Development Guarantee’, so that oil and gas focused companies with credible transition plans can benefit from UK Export Finance’s working capital support to achieve these plans; and publish a comprehensive and transparent description of the exemptions underpinning the policy shift, to provide clarity and certainty for business and civil society.This balanced approach will make the UK an even stronger and more credible international partner to the growing number of countries who are seeking to make the transition to a cleaner future. The UK will build on the implementation of the policy shift by working with likeminded partners to make similar commitments, including through our G7 and COP26 Presidencies. [1] The 60Mt also includes emissions savings from CCUS and hydrogen already set out in the PM’s 10 Point Plan.

Department of Health and Social Care

DHSC Update

Lord Bethell: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock) has made the following written statement:I wish to inform the House of progress in establishing the UK Health Security Agency and the appointment of its leadership.In August 2020, the Government announced its intention to create a new body, bringing together the at-scale operational response capability of NHS Test and Trace, the Joint Biosecurity Centre’s intelligence and analytical capability and the public health science and health protection expertise of Public Health England into an organisation focused wholly on protecting people from external threats to this country’s health.From 1 April, we will formally establish the new UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The UKHSA will be this country’s permanent standing capacity to prepare for, prevent and respond to threats to health.The UKHSA will plan for the risk of future infectious disease pandemics and other major health threats, maintaining this focus both during a crisis and in better times. It will work with partners around the world and lead the UK’s global contribution to global health protection research. The new Agency will prevent threats by deploying the full weight of our analytic and genomic capability, on infectious diseases and beyond, and will hold responsibility for our health security scientific capabilities including those at Porton Down and Colindale. It will respond to the threats we face with speed and scale, including terrorist threats to health, another pandemic or environmental hazards.The Agency will operate with local and national partners to deliver its brief, including building a strong partnership with local government and Directors of Public Health. It will work with the national public health bodies for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, continuing strong collaborative work such as the Joint Biosecurity Centre to support health security for the whole of the UK.UKHSA will be empowered to hire the very best team possible from around the world. Its Chief Executive will be Dr Jenny Harries, who has performed brilliantly during this crisis. Dr Harries previously led the public health response to the Novichok poisonings, she played a critical part in the UK’s Ebola response and last year, as Deputy Chief Medical Officer, she’s delivered the shielding programme which is both incredibly sensitive and has been superbly delivered. Dr Harries’ distinguished career as both a public health physician, and crucially, as a public health leader, make her impeccably qualified for this role.Ian Peters will be UKHSA’s Chair. Under Ian’s leadership as Chairman of Barts Health NHS Trust, the Trust has built an impressive track record in life sciences with the combination of private sector, academic and Government capability that is so important to delivering excellence at scale. Ian brings his extensive experience of leadership in the public and private sector to this task, including several years as Managing Director of British Gas. Both Dr Harries and Mr Peters will be appointed from 1 April.To protect operational continuity and provide for necessary staff consultations, the transition of responsibilities and capabilities from Public Health England and NHS Test and Trace into the new Agency will take place over the coming months, with the UKHSA fully operational from October 2021. Until this date, PHE and NHS Test and Trace will continue to deliver their existing functions.I will provide a further update in due course on the Government’s wider plans for public health reform, including on arrangements for promoting and improving health.

Specialty and Associate Specialist doctors’ contract agreement

Lord Bethell: My Hon Friend the Minister of State for Care (Helen Whately) has made the following written statement: I am pleased to confirm that specialty and associate specialist doctors have backed a multi-year pay and contract reform agreement. This is a diverse group of doctors who play a vital role in delivering high-quality care within healthcare teams and we recognise the particular issues they have faced. This agreement focuses on fixing long-standing concerns around equality of pay and terms and conditions for this group of staff. The agreement will improve their experiences of work and provide more opportunities to progress in their careers, in return for contractual changes which will deliver improvements to NHS services. The deal will give around 10,000 doctors the option to transfer to new contracts. The contract changes prioritise doctors’ physical and mental wellbeing through introducing new limits on work in unsocial hours and additional annual leave to improve equity with other staff groups. The new pay scales will have fewer progression points, enabling faster progression to the top of the pay scale, heeding the recommendations from the Gender Pay Gap in Medicine Review. The introduction of a new senior grade will expand opportunities for career progression for specialty doctors. Over recent years we have sought major contractual reforms right across the NHS workforce. Public sector pay must deliver value for money for the taxpayer and this agreement commits investment in return for reforms which will help improve recruitment and retention, enhance morale and boost capacity and productivity. This agreement delivers on the commitment in the NHS People Plan to make these roles more attractive and fulfilling and will help us retain more talent to ensure our NHS is there for everyone in the years to come.

Sale of a Credit Guarantee Finance loan by the Department of Health and Social Care

Lord Bethell: My Hon Friend the Minister of State (Minister for Health) (Edward Argar) has made the following written statement:In 2005 The Department of Health (as it was then) made two loans under a policy created by HM Treasury called Credit Guarantee Finance, one for the PFI (Private Finance Initiative) scheme at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust for the Bexley Oncology Wing and the other for the PFI scheme at the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust for the redevelopment of the Queen Alexandra Hospital. The purpose of the policy was to reduce the financing costs of Private Finance Initiative deals and improve their value for money. An assessment at the time concluded that these objectives had been met.It has now been agreed that the Department of Health and Social Care will sell its entire interest in the Credit Guarantee Finance loan which was used for the PFI scheme at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth.The Credit Guarantee Loan which was used for the PFI scheme at Bexley Oncology Wing, at the Leeds was repaid in full in 2017.

Treasury

Public Spending

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.On 15 February the UK Government announced an additional £2.1 billion for the devolved administrations through the Barnett formula to support people, businesses and public services affected by coronavirus. This was on top of the £16.8 billion that had previously been guaranteed.In recognition of the exceptional circumstances and in response to calls for flexibility, the devolved administrations were given the option to carry forward any of the £2.1 billion into 2021-22 on top of their existing facilities to transfer funding between financial years.The devolved administrations have now confirmed they wish to carry forward the following amounts. They will receive this funding at Main Estimates 2021-22.£millionScottish GovernmentWelsh GovernmentNorthern Ireland ExecutiveResource DEL excluding depreciation873.510497.557238.054Capital DEL (general)236.845137.13074.964Capital DEL (Financial Transactions)41.53225.53014.039Total DEL1,151.888660.218327.057The devolved administrations’ 2020-21 funding as at Supplementary Estimates 2020-21 is therefore being reduced by the same amount.In line with the Statement of Funding Policy the Welsh Government is also switching £501 million from Resource DEL to Capital DEL (general).This means that revised 2020-21 funding is as follows:£millionScottish GovernmentWelsh GovernmentNorthern Ireland ExecutiveResource DEL excluding depreciation39,210.21517,923.93114,974.531Capital DEL (general)4,836.5452,837.5691,591.874Capital DEL (Financial Transactions)612.198313.696214.816Total DEL44,658.95721,075.19516,781.222

Oil and Gas Decommissioning Relief Deeds

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My honourable friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Kemi Badenoch) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.At Budget 2013, the government announced it would begin signing decommissioning relief deeds. These deeds represented a new contractual approach to provide oil and gas companies with certainty on the level of tax relief they will receive on future decommissioning costs.Since October 2013, the government has entered into 98 decommissioning relief deeds.Oil & Gas UK estimates that these deeds have so far unlocked approximately £8.1bn of capital, which can now be invested elsewhere.The government committed to report to Parliament every year on progress with the decommissioning relief deeds. The report for financial year 2019-20 is provided below.Number of decommissioning relief agreements entered into: the government entered into 4 decommissioning relief agreements in 2019-20.Total number of decommissioning relief agreements in force at the end of that year: 96 decommissioning relief agreements were in force at the end of the year.Number of payments made under any decommissioning relief agreements during that year, and the amount of each payment: two payments were made under a decommissioning relief agreement in 2019-20, for £54.6m in total. These were made in relation to the provision recognised by HM Treasury in 2015, as a result of a company defaulting on its decommissioning obligations.Total number of payments that have been made under any decommissioning relief agreements as at the end of that year, and the total amount of those payments: six payments have been made under any decommissioning relief agreement as at the end of the 2019-20 financial year, totalling £148.6m.Estimate of the maximum amount liable to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements: the government has not made any changes to the tax regime that would generate a liability to be paid under any decommissioning relief agreements. HM Treasury’s 2020-21 accounts will recognise a provision of £258.1m in respect of decommissioning expenditure incurred as a result of a company defaulting on their decommissioning obligations[1]. The majority of this is expected to be realised over the next three years. [1] This figure takes into account payments made subsequent to the financial year covered by this Written Ministerial Statement.